Retained Reflexes - update

[IndigoBell]

Just wanted to report to you guys our very positive experience with retained reflexes therapy.

We started therapy at the begining of the summer holidays in July. It takes about 10 minutes a night to do and DS doesn't mind doing it now he's into the routine.

Straight away we thought we noticed a difference.

When he went back to school in Sep they said he was a different boy.

Yesterday went for an IEP review meeting - and in one term he has made about 2 years progress in almost all his subjects!

He is now on the G&T register for half his subjects.

I am so thrilled.

[cpbp]

IndigoBell, I am so thrilled for you. News like that just lifts the heart!!

What better news could you have for Christmas!

My DS is nearly finished treatment at the David Mulhall centre for retained reflexes and it has helped him so much..

[Triggles]

I'm curious. What does this all involve? I've looked at the websites that talk about this stuff, but it's quite vague about the treatment.

[TheArsenicCupCake]

That's brilliant!

And wooohoo on the progress made :)

[IndigoBell]

Triggles - it involves almost nothing! It is truly unbelievable.

DS has had to drink through a curly straw, touch his left knee with his right hand, read the first word then last word of a line, do rolls, lean his head to one side....

All stuff that sounds like nothing. But basically it is extremely targeted occupational therapy.

My NHS OT looked over the program and thought it looked very good.

It has also helped with his vestibular and propcietation problems. So I have been telling everyone on here to do retained reflex therapy before doing sensory integration treatmemt.

His Moro reflex has gone down from 86% to 12% and as promised his anxiety has greatly reduced.

He is now able to sit still in class.

But most of all I think because he is no longer so anxious he is now able to work in class.

We haven't finished the treatment yet. I think we'll still be doing these exercises for about another 3 months. We go back every 6 weeks and they adjust the program.

[oddgirl]

We have also had great results from retained reflex therapy-some changes were quite subtle but some huge...the biggest change for us was with the retained moro and fear paralysis reflexes...a child who can now sit still, concentrate for loger periods..."knows" where his body is in space...ie you can get him to shut his eyes, squeeze one of his fingers and he can actually identify exactly which finger...utterly impossible for him a year ago. Decreased anxiety and no more car sickness...greater sociability etc etc...I know there is little scientific evidence for this but frankly I couldnt care less...it worked for us...
Great to hear all going well indigo-thrilled for you...

[Triggles]

Odd, but if it works...

I will ask about this when DS2 has his first OT appointment.

[Willmum]

Where do you go for retained reflex therapy and does anyone know if this would still sork with young adults? Were in Yorkshire area. Does anyone knoe anywhere near?
Thanks

[rabbitstew]

Yes, please - any recommendations on where to go or how to find somewhere reputable would be great! I specifically asked ds1's OT about her views on retained reflexes theories and she didn't have a clue what I was talking about - obviously not her area of expertise!!!

[HighFibreDiet]

Wow IndigoBell that is so brilliant. Ds2's OT checked him last week and he still has the Galant reflex to a small extent, but we know the exercises to do for that so I shall just reintroduce them daily. We're leaving the country but she said she didn't think he needed any more OT after this - and other people have commented on the difference too.

Willmum and rabbitstew, the INPP in Chester has done lots of work on retained reflexes and has some info here, although that doesn't tell you how to find a therapist near you.

[mariagoretti]

Wow, that's fantastic. Really really fantastic. And the even more lovely thing about these improvements is the knock-on positive effect they will continue to have on the whole family. I'm grinning just reading the post!

[rabbitstew]

Hi, HighFibreDiet,

Thanks for the link to INPP. Is that where your OT trained or got her information? Is the INPP where most people on here have gone for this sort of thing???

Is that where you went, IndigoBell?????

[IndigoBell]

I did the Development Program at the Sound Learning Centre in London.

You only have to go once every six weeks.

£600 for the first 3 months and then £100 every six weeks.

The reason DS made 2 years progress in a term was not because he suddenly learnt everything - he always knew the stuff, but because he was so stressed / anxious he couldn't do any work in class.

[oddgirl]

I used an INPP trained practitioner in Hertfordshire rabbitstew-she has been great but improvements slow but there. It was really eye-opening when she tested his reflexes in the initial assessment because it became so bloody obvious why he has the difficulties he does. For us it has been the reduction in anxiety but also the far improved spatial awareness and processing of messages. If you google Sally Goddard Blythe, she has done masses in this area...
as Indigo says the exercises are not even that hard...slow turning in a chair, turning head, rolling slowly...but they only take 10 mins a day and the results for us at least have been amazing...

[rabbitstew]

Spatial awareness, reductions in anxiety at school and any improvements on bedwetting would be fantastic! Ds1 is odd - his mental arithmetic and literacy are spectacularly good (apparently about 8 years ahead of his actual age), but he has real problems with working out how to do physical things (but is clearly not actually dyspraxic) and how to interpret images, line things up in columns for maths, etc, which is most odd as this difficulty does not stretch to reading and writing, both of which he could do from a very early age (except that he can't seem to make a clear difference between a plus sign and a times sign...). He does have trouble following plans, drawing charts, working out how to get his hat the right way around on his head, etc... and needed to be taught how to roll over, crawl, walk, dress himself etc... Does this sound like the sort of peculiarity that might be helped in this way????

[IndigoBell]

Yes - this sounds like visual perception problems. I would expect all of those things to be addressed.

[HighFibreDiet]

I don't think our OT trained with INPP but she certainly had experience working with people with retained reflexes. I initially searched for an OT who would work on sensory perception disorder, and also went with a personal recommendation. She was the only person who ever suggested there might be a root cause for ds2's incontinence - everyone else seemed to disregard it, with no concern for the impact it had on our day-to-day lives. I truly had my eyes opened when I found out about retained reflexes and I hope it helps you and your ds too.

[Eveiebaby]

Fantastic news IndigoBell. I am very interested in retained reflexes. We did AIT at the Sound Learning Centre a few months back and I was considering their Development Programme but I am not sure if DD would co-operate!! We had an OT assessment a couple of weeks ago and she has weak motor skills so I think maybe she would not be able to do some of the exercises they recommend anyway.

It's something that I may consider again in a few months time but it was interesting to hear that your DS is doing so well.

[IndigoBell]

The exercises are individual to her - so they won't give her something they can't do.

I was worried about having a batttle every evening to get DS to do it. But once he was used to it he stopped complaining.

[Eveiebaby]

Thanks for the info Indigo - I may consider it sooner than I thought!